Women's Authorship and the Early Gothic

‘Women’s Authorship and the Early Gothic is an impressive testament to the diversity of early women’s Gothic, painting a compelling picture of the perils and rewards of female rebellion and authorship. Often dismissed as derivative, women’s Gothic is instead revealed as a creative dialogue, mingling historical darkness with Romantic optimism.’
-Dr Dara Downey, School of English, Trinity College Dublin

‘This lively and original collection delves into the hidden, neglected
corners of early Gothic literature written by women, unearthing in the process many sparkling insights. The tale of marginalised women’s Gothic writing and its impact across generic and geographical boundaries is brilliantly interwoven throughout with the oft-repressed narrative of the creativity and professionalism of women’s authorship in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.’
-Professor Joe Bray, University of Sheffield

‘This book is undoubtedly the most exciting collection of essays on the relationship between gender and Romantic-era Gothic writing to have been published in the last decade and more. Interrogating and suspending the long-standing critical biases that have reduced a wealth of women’s Gothic writing from this period to sub-literary forms of imitation, the essays in Kathleen Hudson’s collection provide truly invigorating rereadings of a wealth of overlooked texts and writers. Ever attuned to the complex web of relationships, professional and aesthetic, in which early women Gothic writers were inscribed, it offers fresh perspectives on such matters as literary influence, inheritance and book history, taking its readers in the process well beyond the critical confines of the so-called “Female Gothic”.’
-Professor Dale Townshend, Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies

‘This volume recommends cogently, with some urgency, and by way of fresh readings of popular or little-known texts and authors, the reconsideration and reframing of the literary landscape of early Gothic writing in relation to the underappreciated contributions, innovations, and exchanges of women writers. A fine and welcome addition to the University of Wales Press’s Gothic Literary Studies series.’
-Dr Carol Margaret Davison, University of Windsor, Canada

'Kathleen Hudson did an excellent job with Women’s Authorship and the Early Gothic: Legacies and Innovations. It is a reading that presents as many ideas as fascinating proposals such as the relationship of the writers with the public, the publishers, even the role of women reflected in their works, showing with precision what it was like to be a Gothic female writer in a male-dominated market and world, along with the differences between female and male Gothic literature. Reading this book makes you open your eyes to gender, without a doubt.'
- Review by Alan D. D. on Tinta Nocturna https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/10/resena-review-womens-authorship-and.html

‘This important revisionist collection reclaims from the shadows a “monstrous regiment of women” writers whose industry and creativity helped plot the course of Gothic literature for us today. Kathleen Hudson and her fellow authors reveal what it meant to be a woman writing during the Romantic period, from the dazzling heights of the “Great Enchantress” Ann Radcliffe, to the impoverished novelists struggling to survive in the literary marketplace. This book is a must-read female powerhouse!’
- Professor Marie Mulvey-Roberts, UWE Bristol, Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Writing